Account or index cabinet.



R. C. BENDER.

ACCOUNT 0R INDEX CABINET.

APPLICATION flLED MAR. 4. 1918.

1,279,969. I Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

I THE NURRIS PETERS CU" PNDYD-LITHB.. WASNINGYON. DjC,

R. C. BENDER.

ACCOUNT 0R INDEX CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 19:9.

Patented Sept. 24

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[HM/2W Fah /"Z 6. fimder R. C. BENDER.

'ACCOUNT 0R INDEX CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1918.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3 Ill m; mamas FZYERS m, PNDTO-LI1HO.. wAsnmoronL n. c.

R. C. BENDER.

"ACCOUNTOR INDEX CABINET. APPLICATION EILED MAR- 41 I9I8.

1 ,279,969. Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

.4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

i a e RoBnR'ro. BENDEl-t, or s'nroUIs, ivussounr.

' ACCOUNT on INDEX CABINET.

ncense.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. BENDER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at St. 7 Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inflAccount or Index Cabinets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as'will enable others skilled in ,the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same, referencebeing had tolthe accompanyingjdranu ings, forming part of this specifioationl' My invention relates enerallyto ofiic'e furniture and more speci cally to a cabinetfor containing files, invoice holders, index cards, or the like, and said. cabinet'bein'g essentially designed for facilitating the work of bookkeepers or persons handling the rec ords of accountsofbusinesshouses. 1 7 f The principal objectsof my invention are, to provide a comparatively simple and in; expensive cabinet which is both fire and dust-proof when closed;-toprovide a cabinet having parts which serve as covers for the cabinet when closed, said parts capable of being swung into 1position to serve as table or desk tops upon W ich may be placed invoice holders, containers, cards and books utilized in connection with the cabinet and the records contained therein; to provide a cabinet with a series of adjustable and removable containers adapted toreceive invoice holders,

filing cardsand the like; to equip the containersof the cabinet with readily adjust-- able follower plates; to arrange Within the cabinet and above the containers a movable cover plate having a folding book or sheet holding rack; to provide a cabinet having a spring supported cover which can be easily and quickly shifted from closed to open positionior vice versa; and further, to provide a cabinet which is very compact and at the same time has a relatively large capacity.

"With the foregoing andother objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is atop plan. view of a cabinet constructed in accordance with my invention. 7 p r Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cabinet with the covers thereof in open position. Fig, 3 is an end elevational view of the cabinet with the covers in closed positions.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the i Specification of Letters Patent.

. Application inea March 4, 1918.

approximately on theline 77 of Fig. 1;.

follower plates utilized in within the cabinet.

Patented Sept. 24, 19 18. seria No. 220,222.

.Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on the line 66 of Fig. 3.

Fig. .7. is an enlarged cross section 'talien I Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on theline 8 8 of Fig. 7.

ig.. 9 is a perspective view ofoneof the the containers Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on the line .10-10 of Fig. ig. 11 is an enlarged detail section showing arolling support for the movable carryin 'frame utilizedin the cabinet.

ig. 12 is a plan View of the movable rack carrying frame.

Fig. 13 is across section taken approximately on the line 13-13 of Fig. 12 and showing the folding-rack in its elevated position. d

. Fig. 14 is an elevational view of the rear end of the adjustable. frame with the rack in elevated position.

Aswill be seenin the drawings, the main body of the cabinet is. in the form of an elongated box-like structure, the samecomprisinga bottom 10, front wall 11, rear wall 12 and endwalls 13. These walls and bot tom arepreferably constructed of inner. and outer sections] of sheet metal spaced apart and arranged substantially parallel with each other and the. space between said sections being packed with asbestos, mineral wool or theliket The front wall 11 is not as high asthe rear wall12 and the side Walls 13 are; formed so thattheir upper edges are inclined from the top of said front wall 11 toipoints a short distance in front of rear wall 12. (See Fig, 4:.) These inclined upper edges of the side walls are designated by the numeral 13 and the straight upper edges of said end walls or the edges between i sheets of metal with a layer of interposed mineral wool or the like and the front edge of this cover plate is provided with a lip or flange 15. Secured tothe underside of this Secured t the upper portion of rear wall 12 are two or more inverted L-shaped brackets 17 which are adapted to maintain the cover plate 14 in a horizontal plane when 1t is swung into open position, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

j The main cover 18 for the container or the cover which normally closes the opening between the front edge of cover plate 14 and the top' offront wall 11 is preferably formed of two sections of sheet metal spaced apart and packed with mineral wool or the like and the ends of this main cover are bent intovertical planes to form comparatively narrow vertically disposed sections 19 which ;rest directlyupon the inclined edges 13 of theend walls 13.

The rear edge of the cover 18 is provided witlra rearwardly projectingflange 20 which, when the covers 14 and 18: are in closed position, fits snugly within flange "15 and overlying the plates or fingers 16.

The lower edges of the end portions 19 ofthe 'inain cover are provided with de-. pending tongues 21 which, when said cover is closed, occupy grooves 22 formed in the inclined edges 13 The front edge of main cover 18 is bent downward into a vertical plane audits lower edge rests directly upon the upper edge of front wall 11 and said meeting edges being preferably rabbeted in order to form a. dust-proof joint.

Journaled in suitable bearings formed in the lower portions of end walls 13 imme; diately above bottom '10 and approximately halfway between front and rear walls 11 and 12 is a shaft 23; on the ends of-which immediately outside end walls 13 are fixed arms 24 which normally occupy vertical positions asillustrated in Figs. 3 and 7 Secured to a pin or projection near the center of shaft 23 is the center of a double torsional spring 25, the ends thereof being secured in any suitable manner to the hot tom 10; This spring 25 normally resists a.

forward rotary motion of the shaft 23 and which motion is a result 'of the arms 24 swinging forward and downwardfrom their normal vertical positions.

' Secured tothe' outer faces of end walls F 13 "are small brackets 26 which perform the functions of stubs to limit the rearward swinging movement of the arms 24. Pivotjecting through bearings 29 formed in the depending end portions 19 of cover 18. The inner endv of each bearing 29 is provided with'a clutch face 30, preferably a series of ratchet teeth, and adapted engage'said clutchface is a corresponding clutch face 31 which is'fornrd on} the end of a collar 32, the-latter being loosely mounted on trunnion 28. Formed in this collar 32 is a series of apertures 33 which are adapted to receive the end of a suitable tool utilized for rotating said collar on the trunnion.

Secured in any suitable manner to each collar 32 is one e'nd'of ators'ional spring 34, the same being arranged on the corresponding trunnion and the other end of this" spring beingsecured to saidtrunnionin any suitable manner. It will be understoodthat inrotating collar 32 in one direction or the other, the tension of spring 34 may be regulated.

Projectnig outwardly from each end portion 19'of cover 18 and on opposite ends of,

each bearing 29 are' st0p pins 35 and 36 against which the'corresponding link 27 is adapted to engage as the cover 18 is shifted fromone position to another). I

. Pivotally seeuredto the upperend of each arm 24 and preferably between saidarm and the corresponding link 27 is a relatively short dog orfdetent '37, the lower end of which is notched'so as to engage a stop pin 38, the latterprojecting outwardly from the endportionlQ of'jcover 18.. These dogs or detents engage the pins: 38 only when cover 18 is swung outwardintofposition in front of the body of the cabinet as illus: trated in Fig. 4. When the cover 'is thus positioned, itserves as a ,work-tablein that it provides a substantially flat surface on which "books, invoice holders, bills and the like may be temporarily placed.

Secured to theends 13 at points near the front wall 11 of the cabinet are outwardly projecting brackets 39 which perform the functions of stops to limitthe downward The contalners 40 for the invoice holders,

index cards or the like 'arepreferably formed of sheet metal and are'open at their tops. These 'containersare removably and interchangeably positioned-within the body of the cabinet, and their front lower ends rest upon a suitable supporting. rail" 41, which latter is positioned on the bottom 10 immediately adjacent the front'wallf 11. The rear ends of the" containers rest on a rail 42 which is secured to rear wall 12a short distance above bottom 10 and owing to the relative positions of the rails 41 and '42, the

containers 4O occupy inclined positions with 1 their rear ends elevated.

Removably positioned on the rails 41 and 42 and normally located directly against the righthand end wall of the cabinet is a container .43 which is adapted to hold index cards or heading cards for the invoice holders, and positioned in theopposite end of index tags and the like which are utilized in connection with invoice tems and the like. 7

The central portion of the bottom of each container is pressed to form a longitudiholders, card sysna'lly disposed row of teeth or corrugations 45, the same being adapted to be engaged by a pinion carried by an adjustable follower plate. Secured to the upper portions of the side walls of each container and. on the inner faces thereof are parallel strips 46, the same forming guides for parts carried bythe follower plate. Each follower plate 47 is composed of a substantially rectangular section of sheet metal, the upper portion 48 of which is bent into a plane substantially at rightangles to the main body of the plate and formed on the side edges of this bent upper portion are fingers. 49

which occupy and are adaptedto traverse the grooves between the pairs of guide strips 46. V w w Journaled between a pair of cars pressed from the lower portion of plate 47 is a pinion 50 which meshes with the teeth or corrugations formed in the bottom of the container 40 andarrangedfor sliding movement throu h ears 51 pressed rearwardly from the body of the'plate 47 is a rod 52, the lower end of which is provided withone or more teeth 53 which are adapted to engage with .the teeth of pinion 50. A compression spring 54 is arranged on this rod between one of the ears 51 and a collar 55, said spring 6 normally exerting downward pressure to '40 force-the teeth 53 into engagement with the teeth of pinion 50. y I P'ivotally mounted on the rearwardly bent portion 48 of the follower plate is a small bell crank 56, the lower end of which is ivotallyconnected to the upper end of rod 52. Normally spring 54 holds rod 52 so that teeth 53 are in engagement with pinion 50, thereby locking the fol-lower plate against movement in either direction and to release the parts so as to shift said plate, the upper end of bell crankr56 is moved rearwardly a slight distance, thereby elevating rod 52 and disengaging teeth53 from pinion and the follower plate cannow beshiftedin either direction.

Arranged to move longitudinally of the cabinet and in a plane immediately above the tops of the containers 40 is a frame or plate, 57 preferably. constructed of sheet metal and having a width substantially equal to 'the'width of three of said containers 40. Anopening 58 is formed in the center "of this -late, said opening being approximately equal in width and .length to the open upper end of one of the containers, The front end beneath them.

of this plate is bent downward to form a short vertically disposed leg 59 and mounted for rotation on the lower end of this leg is a series of grooved rollers 60 which travel directly upon rail 61, which latter is secured to the inner face offront wall 11 a short distance below the upper edge thereof.

The rear end of this plate 57 is. bent downward to form a. short vertically disposed leg 62 and journaled on the lower end of the latter is a series of grooved rollers 63 which travel directly upon a rail 64, the latter being secured to the inner faceof rear wall 12 at a point shortly. below the upper edge thereof.- a V V The rails 61 and 64 are located'so thatthe body of plate 57 occupies an inclined plane substantially parallel with the plane: occu pied by the tops of the containers 40. J ournaled in suitable bearings 65 which are arrangednear therear corners of plate 57 is a transversely disposed shaft66, the ends of which are bent at right angles to the plane occupied by the body of said rod to form stops 66 which are adapted to bear against the top face of the plate when shaft 66is rocked to move the rack carried by said rod into a substantially vertical position.

Secured to rock shaft 66 are the ends of a series of small metal rails or strips67, the opposite ends thereof being connected by a cross piece 68. Arranged to rockin bearings 69 on cross piece 68 is a shaft 70 upon the central portion of which is arranged'a torsional spring 71 and extending at right angles from the endsof said shaft 70 are short arms 7 2, the same being connected to across .rod 73, the'latter being disposed substantially parallel to shaft 70. One end of this cross rod is provided with an outwardly projecting finger 74. V

Secured to the lower portions of the central pair of rails or strips 67 a are flat springs 75 which are adapted to grip cards or sheets of paper placed beneath them. Secured in any suitable manner to the face of plate 57 near the front end thereof are resilient retaining clips 76 which are for the purpose of holding cards or sheets of paper placed When my improved cabinet is closed and out of, service, the various partsoccupy the positions as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 7. To open the cabinet, the operator manually engages the front portion of cover 18, preferably at the ends thereof, and pulls forwardly on the same, which action disengages flange 20 from its position beneath flange 15 and the entire cover can now be swung forwardly and downwardly during which movement said cover is supported by arms 24 and links 27. As the arms 24 thus swing forward, shaft23 will be rocked for- Wardly, thereby storing power in torsional spring 25.- a

.In order to swing the cover into an out-. of-the-way position, the rear end thereof.

is depressed and swung downward past the upper. edge of front wallwlly and as this downward swinging movement is continued,

of and below the front wall 11 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. When so positioned,

the arms 24 will rest upon stop brackets 39 and links 27 will rest against .stop pins 36 with the result that the cover 18' will be firmly held in its out-.of-the-way position.

A reversal of the movements just described will necessarily reposition the cover plate on the front and side walls of the cabinet'=.or' in. the position as shown by solid lines in-Fig. 3, and as the torsional springs 34 are normally under tension, the return movement of the cover to normal position will be greatly facilitated for the tensionofsaid springs 34 and the power stored in tor; sional spring 25pwill cooperate to assist in lifting and repositioning, the" cover on the cabinet. 1

In'the eventthat itisdesired toutilize the cover as'a desk or table when in open position, said cover is pulled horizontallyoutward during the opening movement and the rear portionof said cover is manipu-r lated so that the flange 20 rests directly upon the upper edge of front wall 11 and when this has been accomplished, the dogs or pawls- 37 are manipulated so that the notches in the vlowerends thereof engage pins 38 and this provision, together with the engagement of the arms 2&- on the stops 39,- will maintain the cover in a substantially horizontal position in front of the body of the cabinet as illustrated in Fig. 4. When so positioned, books, invoice holders, invoice slips, index cards, or the likemay be temporarily placed onthe flat top surface of the cover with the result that the work of the bookkeeper or person having charge of the accounts is greatly facilitated; V a

The pins 35 projecting outwardly from the ends of the cover are for the purpose of limiting the upward swinging movement of i the rear portion of the cover when the latter is elevatedand repositioned upon the body of the cabinet. 7

As'heretofore explained, the tension of the torsional springs 34 can be regulated by proper manipulation of the collars 32, which latter, when at rest, are interlocked with the bearings 29. If desired, rear coverv 14: may be swung upwardly and thence rearwardly into a substantially horizontal plane as illustrated in Fig. 3'to form a shelf on which various articles associated with the cabinet'may be placed when said cabinet is in use. r 4

Invoice holders. index cards or the like are placed in upright positions in the conwheels and 63 traverse the rails 61 and: V

64. Opening 58 is-adaptejd to coincide with the open top of one of the containersj,-and

those-portions of the plateftothesiides' of said openings mask or' coverthe' two'jeontainers to the sides of the container beneath said opening- 58, thereby-providing an arrangement which is verygconvenient whena clerk or bookkeeper desires to work in a? single compartment or container for instance-e in posting items orjtaking off records; from all the cards or invoices positioned within a certain container, the operator can take out one card or container ata time and after taking off the necessary data, return said card or holder to the container without lia bility of imistake in getting the ;;card' or, holder into the wrong container.

If desiredginvoice slips, cards or the like may be temporarily placed beneath the re-; silient retaining members 76 and likewise, if desired, the rack whiehis hingedto plate 57 can be swung upward intothe'p'ositions illustrated in Figs: .13 and 14: and a book or a number of sheets containing dataycan be positioned beneath the retaining devieecom-- prising 'the rods and 73'.

A cabinet of myimp'roved construction is comparatively-simple, can be readily opened or closed, provides attire and dust-proof container for p: invoice holders, index cards and the like, and is particularly applicable invoice slips, order -sheets and the like.

It will be readily understood that minor changes inlthe size form and construction of the various parts ofmy improved cabinet may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the. spirit of invention, the scope of which is I claim: 1. The combi ation with' a cabinet body, of a 'coveradapted to close a portion of the open topof said body, a shaft ournaled in the lower portion of the cabinet,,a torsional springasso'ciated with said shaft, arms carried by said shaft, and links pivotally con nected to saidarms and to said cover.

set forth ,in' the appended-claims.

2. The combination with a. cabinet body,

of a cover adaptedito close a portion ofthe open top of said body, a shaftvjournaled in the lower portion of'the cabinet, a torsional spring associated with said'shaft, arms carried by said shaft, links pivotally connected to said arms a'ndto said cover, and torsional springs associated with said links and-cover.

3. The combination with "a cabinet'body,

of a cover adapted to close a portion of the top of saidbody, and pivotally connected links forming connections between the ends of said body and cover whereby the latter may be swung into a substantially horizontally disposed position in front of the body or swung into a substantially vertical posi- E0311 immediately against the frontof said 4. The combination with a cabinet body, of a cover adapted to close a portion of'the top of said body, pivotally connected links forming connections between the ends of said body and cover whereby the latter may be swung into a substantially horizontally disposed position in front of the body or swung into a substantially vertical position immediately against the front of said body,

and resilient means for opposing the outward swinging movements of said links.

5. The combination with a cabinet body, of a cover adapted to close a portion of the open top of said body, a shaft journaled in said body, a torsional spring associated with said shaft, arms carried by said shaft, links pivotally connected to said arms and to the cover, supporting members pivotally connected to said links and arms, and means on the cover for engaging the lower ends of the supporting members when the cover is in open position in front of the cabinet body.

6. The combination with a cabinet body, of a cover adapted to close a portion of the top of said body, links connecting the ends of said body and cover whereby said cover may be swung into a substantially horizontal or a substantially vertical position in front of said body, and a cover hin ed to the body and cooperating with said rst mentioned cover to close the top of said body.

7. The combinationwith 'a cabinet body, of a cover adapted to'close a portion of the open top of said body, a shaft journaled in said body, a torsional spring associated with copies of this patent may be obtained for saidshaft, arms carriedby said shaft, links pivotally connected to said arms and to the cover, supporting members pivotally con nected to said links and arms, means on the cover for engaging the lower ends of the supporting members when the cover is in open position in front of the cabinet body, and means on the ends of the cover-for limiting the swinging movement thereof relative to said links.

8. A cabinet comprising a substantially box-shaped body, a hinged cover adapted to normally close the rear portion of the open top of said body, a cover adapted to normally close the front portion of the open top of said body, and associated pairs of arms and links forming a connection between the front cover and body whereby said front cover may be swung into horizontal or vertical positions immediately in front of the cabinet body.

9. A cabinet of the class described comprising a substantially box-shaped body, a

series of containers removably and inter-- changeably positioned in said cabinet body, a plate arranged to move lengthwise within the body over the tops of the containers, and said plate being provided withan opening which is approximately equal in size to the opening or chamber in one of the containers.

10. A cabinet of the class described comprising a substantially box-shaped body, a series of containers removably and interchangeably positioned in said cabinet body, a plate arranged to move lengthwise within the body over the tops of the containers, said plate being provided with an opening which is approximately equal in size to the opening or chamber in one of the containers, and a folding rack carried by said plate.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature this 28th day of February, 1918.

ROBT. C. BENDER.

five cents eaeh, by addressing the Gommisnioner of Patentm,

Washington, D. 0. 

